“It was really hard for me to get focused on my grades since I got started on the wrong path. After I was expelled was when I realized that this was horrible and I would just cry.”

Christian Mendoza, a Business Administration student at <a href="http://www.sjvc.edu/ontario" target="_blank">SJVC’s Rancho Cucamonga</a> campus, is a prime example of someone who turned his life around and was determined to get back on track to where he wants to be in life.

After being expelled, he realized that he needed to move forward and wanted to go to school in order to receive the money he knew he both deserved and needed. After growing up in an unhealthy environment, he wanted this education not only for himself, but also for his mom.

The support Mendoza received from his family and girlfriend was the extra push that motivated him to start making the right choices.

“I had a lot of help from my girlfriend. She motivated and told me to keep trying and work hard. She told me about SJVC and how fast paced it was and how I would be guaranteed classes, I called them and they were willing to help me.”

He felt as if this was a second chance and he was not willing to give up this time. SJVC helped him get organized and gave him different tools that aided in keeping him focused. Mendoza did his homework and studying in the lab, which helped him have more free time at home, and less to worry about.

Completing his homework is what made the biggest difference and helped his test scores increase greatly. This positive feedback gave him hope that his dream of owning his mom’s trucking business would one day come true.

To Mendoza, SJVC was one of the best things that happened to him. It helped him get his life going in the right direction. He is incredibly grateful that he was given a second chance.

“If you get a second chance, make the most of it because that might be the only other chance you get,” stated Christian Mendoza.